Slicing machine



' Nov. 13 1923.

w. B. WOLFF SLICING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 19. 1925 Nov.13 1923.

. W. B. WOLFF SL-ICING MACHINE Filed March 19 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2[nvenzfor 7%z ZZ0cce .3. 5 FM V W itinwregyfl Patented Nov. 13, 1923.

UNITED sT TEs WALLACE B. woLrr, or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS.

' sLIcrNe MACHINE; 2

Application filed March 19, 1923. Serial No. 625,993.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WALLACE B. Wonrr, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and" useful Improvement in Slicing Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a meat slicing machine and particularly to aslicing ma-' chine of the type wherein a meat carrier is reciprocatedback and forth pasta circular rotating knife, the meat carrier proper being fed forward in thecourse of said reciprocation so that a slice ofsubstantially uniform thickness is removed in the'course of: eachreciprocation. It has for an object to provide means for insuring aneven forward feeding of the meat carrier up to the extremity of itstravel. It has for a further object to provide means for holding themeat so firmly in position that there will be no tendency for therotation and curvature of the knife to draw the meat forward'and to thusincrease and make irregular the thickcation and claims.

I illustrate my invention more or less diaings wherein Figure 1 is aplan view; Figure 2 is a section :on an enlarged scale on line 2-2 inFigure l;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the meat carrier, with parts in section;

Flgure 4: 1s a plan v1ew of the meat end plate shown in position inFigure 2;

Figure 5 is a section on line 55 of Figure of the slot D and positionedto limit the for- 1; and

Figure 6 is a detail.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the drawings andspecification.

A is a slicing machine frame or supporting structure across whichreciprocates the carriage A which slides on the tracks or bars A A Thecarriage A is adapted to reciprocate in response to the rotation of thedrive wheel A which is indicated as ahand wheel but which may be powerdriven. A

ness of the slice, Other objects will appear from time to time in thecourse of the speci grammatically in the accompanyingdraw- K to'pell'illt the insertion or removal of the is a concavecutting discadapted to rotate in response to rotation of the wheel A A is a surfaceplate connecting the two sides of the carriage A and preferablyproviding a flush surface.

B is a forwardly inclined meat support adapted to slide along thecarriage A but out of contact with the upper surface of the plate A.Removably mounted on the support B is the meat plate (L having a handleC It is herein shown as provided at its outer end with the upwardlyprojecting meat engaging member C in which are mountedthe meat engaginghooks C actuated in any suitable manner in response to the movement ofthe handle C whereby they may be rotated to grip the meat. C C arebraces or bars which steady the meat engaging member C and holdi-t inuniform angular relation to the plate C and the inclined support B.

The plate C is supported upon the support B bymeans of the ledges 13which project from the side bars of which the support is composed, theupper surface of the plate being substantially flush with the uppersurface of each side bar. The plate is locked in position by therotating-clamps K, K which are cutaway at one side as at plate and areprovided with a beveled locking surface K. The plate C is shown thuslocked in place in Figure 1.

The meat support 13 is provided with depending-side portionsD havinginwardly projecting supporting ribs or flanges D which engage and slidein the slots D in the sides of the carriage A. At the forward extremityward movement of the carriage B toward the knife A is the stop D Thesupport B is moved forwardly across the carriage A toward the knife A inresponse to rotation of the spiral feed screw E which is driven byanysuitable mechanism actuated by the reciprocation of the carriage Aacross the frame A. The details of the rotating means form no part ofthe present invention and are merely diagrammatically illustrated, butit will be understood that the screw E is the feednut escapes from theendof the given an intermittent rotation in response to saidreciprocation, thus feeding the support forward with a step by stepmotion.

Slidably mounted in the support B is the plunger E which has a s uareend E terminating in the feed nut 3 which isnormally held in mesh withthe screw E by the compression spring E At the op osite end of theplunger is the hand hold whereby the plunger may be manually withdrawnagainst the spring tension, to disengagethe nut. The nut E passesthrough the "feed nut plate Gr, the aperture in which is of such size asto permit the square end E of the plunger topass ,therethrough withfreedom and with a fcertainwdegree of'play This crossbar B and at its,front end the cross bar B Mounted in the meat plate (I are the twoeccentric studs J J 1 secured, as for example, byfthe lock nuts J Jf.The axes of the eccentric studs are spaced apart by slightly more thanthe distance separating: the forward edge of the cross bar B? and ;the

rear edge of the cross bar B". Intermediate thetwo eccentric studs isthefixed stud J The meat plate C can be placed in normal position andlocked only when it is so positioned that the studs J and J clear thecross bar B and the stud J clearsthe cross bar B. If theplate ispositioned forward far enough to penetrate the cuttingplaneof a rotaryknife, either J will contact thetop of the cross bar B or if the; lateis positioned still farther forward tact the top of the cross bar B.

It will be realized that while I have illustrated a working mechanism,many changes might be made in the size, shape, number and disposition ofparts without departing from the scope of my invention. Specifically,while I have illustrated my invention as applied to a meat end plate, itmay also be applied to the usual type of flat meat. plate used incooperationwith a clamp on I the meat support.

The useand operation of myinvention are as follows:

In the slicing machines heretofore used,

the last slice is frequently thicker than is desirable or is uneven. Innormal operation feed screw, when the meat support reaches 5 will conthelimit of its travel toward the knife. It often happens, however, thatwhen the nut escapes from the feed screw the meat support has not quitereached the limit of its possible travel. In such case the nut no longerexerts a locking action; the cupped or: concave rotating knife draws themeat forward and cuts a slice which is thicker than the remaining slicesof the series, and

which increases in thickness from one side .to the, other of the slice,as the knife draws the m'eat'forward. It will be realized that a veryslight pla issufiicient to result in a large or unusab e' slice,particularly when the slicing machine is set to out very thin slices.-.To provide an adjustment sufficiently delicate to cope with this, Iarrange to adjust the position of the nut E along the side ofthe feedplate, while providing a fixed stop to glimit the forward travel of thesupport. I accomplish this by double adjustment, firstlby lateraladjustment of the slotted feed nut plate G, and secondly by a movementof theadjusting screw G, the inner end of which engages the square endof the plunger E and holds it against the opposite side of the plate G.To adjust the machine properly for a last slice uniform with theremaining slices, I press the feed plate forwardly against the stop Dand then adjust the plate G, to permit the nut E 'just to escape fromthe feed screw E at the instant that the feed plate contacts and isstopped by the stop D knife cannot pull the feedplate forward after thenut leaves the screw, and a uniform slice will be cut. 7

The nut E and the plunger upon which it .is mounted are locked inposition against theforward side of theplate G by the screw G which istightened sufficiently to prevent any lateral movement, but is not tightmovement of the plunger.

The above described adjustment is applicable both to the type of deviceherein shown in which the meat is secured to an end plate and to theusual feed plate in which the meat is clamped in place by a directdownward pressure and it will be understood that there is no intentionto limit the application of the invention to the specific type hereinshown, wherein the clamp has been omitted. V

In the meat endplate of the generaltype herein shown, experience hasshown a certain irregularity in the thickness of the slices, caused bygive or spring in themeat end plate due to its improper adjustment or toits being loosely secured in place. I therefore provide means forobviating any possible'play or looseness, and at the same timeprovidemeans for slightly adjusting the meat end plate along the supportB. The plateC itself is locked in position on Therefore the enough toprevent relatively free endwise' the feed plate 13 by the rotatingclampsK, K Lateral movementi of the plate is of course prevented by the sidebarsfof the carrier B. Longitudinal movementis prevented by theeccentric studs 5, J and longitudinal adjustment is obtained byadjusting either or both of said eccentric studs, in rela tion to theforward edge of the cross bar 13 and the rear edge of the cross bar B.In order to prevent any possibility of the plate C being locked in placein such position that its forward edge projects sufficiently to contactthe edge of the knife, I provide the stud J which will not permit themeat plate C to drop into locking position until it hascleared the rearedge of the cross bar B. This is so proportioned that it will not becleared by the stud J until the forward edge of the plate is withdrawnbeyond the cutting line of the knife.

I claim:

1. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageadapted to be reciprocated thereacross, and a meat support adapted to bemoved forwardly upon said carriage in response to its reciprocation, aspiral screw and means for rotating it in response to saidreciprocation, a nut on said meat plate in mesh with said screw, and astop on said carriage adapted to limit the forward movement of thesupport toward the knife, the length of the screw, the location of thestop and the position of the nut being such that when the supportcontacts the stop the nut leaves the forward end of the screw.

2. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageadapted to be reciprocated thereacross, and a meat support adapted to bemoved forwardly upon said carriage in response to its reciprocation, a.spiral screw'and means for rotating it in response to saidreciprocation, a nut on said meat plate in mesh with said screw, and astop on said carriage adapted to limit the forward movement of thesupport toward the knife, and means for adjusting the position of saidnut along said support.

3. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageadapted to be reciprocated thereacros-s, and a meat support adapted tobe moved forwardly upon said carriage in response to its reciprocation,spiral screw and means for rotating it in response to saidreciprocation, a nut on said meat plate in mesh with said screw, and astop on said carriage adapted to limit the forward movement of thesupport toward the knife, and means for adjusting the position of saidnut along said support, comprising an adjustable bearing plate throughwhich said nut passes.

4. In a slicing machine comprising a cut ting element, a meat carriageadapted to be reciprocated thereacross, and a meat support adapted to bemoved forwardly upon said carriage in response to its reciprocation, a

spiral screw and means for rotating it in response to saidreciprocation, a nut on said meat plate in mesh with said screw, and astop on said carriage adapted to limit the forward movement of thesupport toward the knife, and means for adjusting the position of saidnut along said support, comprising a nut engaging adjusting screw.

5. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageadapted to be reciprocated thereacross, and a meat support adapted to bemoved forwardly upon said carriage in response to its reciprocation, aspiral screw and means for rotating it in response to saidreciprocation, a nut on said meat plate in mesh with said screw,

and a stop on said carriage adapted to limit the forward movement of thesupport toward the knife, and means for adjusting the position of saidnut along said support, comprising an adjustable bearing plate, and anut engaging screw adapted to hold said nut in fixed relation to saidbearing plate.

6. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageand a meat support adapted to be moved forwardly upon said carriage, ameat carrying plate and means for longitudinally adjusting it upon saidsupport.

7. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageand a meat support adapted to be moved forwardly upon said carriage, ameat carrying plate and means for longitudinally adjusting it upon saidsupport, comprising a plurality of eccentric members mounted on saidplate and adapted to engage each an opposed fixed element upon saidcarriage.

8. In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageand a meat support adapted to be moved forwardly upon said carriage, ameat carrying plate and means for longitudinally adjusting it upon saidcarriage, comprising a plurality of eccentric members mounted on saidplate and adapted to engage each an opposed fixed element upon saidcarriage and means for separately adjusting each of said eccentrics.

9. In a slicing machine comprising a cut ting element, a meat carriageand a meat support adapted to be moved forwardly upon said carriage, ameat carrying plate, means for looking it in position upon said meatsupport, and means for preventing such locking when the plate is notproperly positioned upon said support.

10.In a slicing machine comprising a cutting element, a meat carriageand a meat support adapted to be moved forwardly upon said carriage, ameat carrying plate, means for looking it in position upon said meatsupport, and means for preventing such locking when the plate is notproperly positioned upon said support, comprising a member dependingfrom the bottoln of said plate vand adapted to engage the top of saidsupport when the platels in improper position for locking.

111 Locking means for an integral pleat end plate comprising aplurality'of eccentrio studs mounted on the bottom of said meat p1ete,;op osedsurfacesadapted to be rip ed by sai stilds; and means-for sepa- 10rately adjusting each of said studs;

Signedat Chicago, county of Cook, and State of llli'rioig'this lfithd'ay of March, 1923;

" WALLACE BLWOLFF.

